Catch of the Day
Grade : B-

Catch of the Day, Kristan Higgins’s second novel, offers all the same things I loved about her debut, Fools Rush In: a sympathetic, down-to-earth heroine, great humor, and pleasant settings. This book could have great...if not for one major pitfall.

Maggie Beaumont fell in love with a priest. She didn’t know he was a priest when she first met him, much to her chagrin. After embarrassing herself completely telling half of her small Maine town that she’d met “The One,” and then showing up for Sunday services and, oops, isn’t that the hot Irish guy Tim standing in the pulpit? Yup, humiliation complete.

The set-up sounds hokey, but you’re a cold fish if you don’t understand why Maggie can’t help but love the extremely lovable Father Tim. He’s kind, funny, generous, handsome and has an accent like Bono. It’s those darn vows that get in the way. After another seriously humiliating night where Maggie has a bit too much to drink, Father Tim decides she needs to start getting over him and, with the help of some fellow clergymen, he starts setting Maggie up on blind dates. Maggie agrees, wanting to end this obsession that will never lead anywhere and goes out with a few creepy guys before giving up on love.

Maggie has never been lucky in love - the Father Tim escapade wasn’t the first time she'd had her heart broken. She owns her own diner that is the center of her hometown, a small fishing village. Everyone knows everyone else’s business and that doesn’t make finding a good guy any easier for our girl.

But then the silent, shady lobsterman that no one knows much about starts taking an interest in Maggie. She’s as befuddled as the reader is over his actions. The attraction is there in spades, so they spend quite a few energetic sleepovers together, but never talk. Malone, the lobsterman, is silent and sulky to an extreme degree. He’s still trying to get over some major upsets in his past. Combined with a naturally shy disposition you get barely any dialogue, or insight, from this man.

Maggie is a fabulous character to spend some time with; she’s the best friend type you empathize with from the start. Writing in first person in Maggie’s voice enhances rather than hinders Catch of the Day. My heart broke for her during the Father Tim escapade as with her earlier relationship downfalls. Her attitude, given her current situation, is inspiring. Maggie isn’t a saint, however. She does jump to a few conclusions that I thought romance heroines had grown past. How many times have we told budding heroes and heroines to just talk to each other? Sheesh. I expected better from my friend Maggie. No one is perfect, though.

The down side, unfortunately, is the romance. Dark, brooding, quiet leading men are right up my alley, but Malone is too quiet, too mysterious. His more strange actions are never fully explained. The first person narrative didn’t give him much thinking time and since the bedroom door is firmly closed, I really never got a good handle on the man. This might be an exception toe the "show, not tell" rule of writing; here there was too much showing and not enough telling. Malone had much potential and I rooted for him until almost the last page, but things just never came through the way I wanted. The promise of great things made it even harder when I closed the book less than happy with the outcome.

Despite the issue with the romance not living up to what it could have been (especially since the book is marketed as romance) I do recommend it. If I went into it with more of a women’s fiction/chick lit expectation, I might have dismissed the romantic flaws as I usually do in those genres. Kristan Higgins will remain on my list of authors to watch. Her style is fresh enough to make me overlook some problems.

Reviewed by Lisa Gardineer
Grade : B-

Sensuality: Kisses

Review Date : September 18, 2007

Publication Date: 2007/10

Review Tags: 

Recent Comments …

Lisa Gardineer

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
What's your opinion?x
()
x